


The Journey of Our Lives

by Gay_Tired_and_Bored



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Fantasy AU, M/M, Mild Innuendo, but nothing explicit, cursing, i have basically no idea what im doing, i mean it has remus in it what do you want from me here, ngl i spent an eternity thinking of a name instead of actually writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_Tired_and_Bored/pseuds/Gay_Tired_and_Bored
Summary: Prince Roman Ravensheart seemed to have the perfect life? Would it stay like that forever?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, DRLAMP, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. The Young Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Roman Ravensheart seemed to have the perfect life? Would it stay like that forever?

It was another beautiful day in the kingdom of Ebonspire. From the sun rising over the tops of the towers of the castle, to the morning dew on the blades of grass in the forest. From forest camps to small towns, it was a peaceful place, where nothing ever seemed to go wrong. It was a place of joyful villages, merry towns, and happy people. And of course, everyone admired the royal family, for the king and queen were ever so benevolent towards the people. Everyone lived in prosperity, and anyone who couldn’t was taken care of by the Royals. It was truly the perfect kingdom.

At least, this was how Roman Ravensheart saw the kingdom. The young prince awoke with a yawn as sunlight peeked through his window. He sat up in his bed, propped up by a multitude of soft pillows, while still laying under his down blanket. He looked around the room as his vision started coming into focus. There was the intricate door across the room from his bed. To the right of that was his wardrobe, and to the left was a small table piled high with parchment and quills. Roman was always trying to tell stories, but between having no stories to tell and being caught up in royal duties, he didn’t have many opportunities to make his next attempt. He looked to the window above the table and stared out of it, until he snapped back to reality when he heard a knock on his door.

“RoRo? Are you awake yet?” A voice called from the other side of the door. Roman recognized it as the voice of his mother, Queen Raela Ravensheart.

“Yes, mom!” Roman half-shouted through a yawn as his door opened, revealing the Queen. She was a fair woman, with flowing, wavy dark brown hair under her golden crown, and emerald eyes, the same color as the jewels in her crown. Her ears were long and pointed like Roman's. She greeted her son with a smile, but left shortly after telling him to come down to the dining hall for breakfast. 

The prince slipped out of the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. He picked a white buttonup shirt, a two toned red blazer, a bright red sash, some black pants, and a pair of short, black boots. He couldn’t remember any important events for the day; he always just liked to dress like it was some day important. He tied the sash and adjusted it and walked over to the small vanity to the side of the wardrobe. He looked at his hair in the mirror. It was a little bit unkempt, which bothered him quite a bit. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times before rushing out of the door framed in red and gold. He slowed down for a minute as he saw the door with a frame of green and black. Had it really been four years? 

He snapped back to reality once more and ran towards the smell of bacon. He entered the dining hall to see his father, King Rothmir, his mother, the head chef, and a small array of servants. He sat down at his plate and started to dig into the plate of fruits, bacon, and other assorted breakfast items as some of the servants began to play music on flutes and lutes. The family was silent as always. Roman didn’t really get why, but never questioned it. His only idea was that they didn’t talk so everyone could hear the music. Somehow, the silence felt eerie today, but he wasn’t sure how. He finished his food, thanked the head chef and his parents, and left to do his daily chore.

Now, normal children might have chores like washing clothes or cutting firewood, but as the future king of Ebonspire, his chore was to help sort out small issues in the nearby village as a sort of practice for being king. He was 19 at this point, which meant that he was of age to take the throne as soon as his father passed, so he had to be prepared. He walked down to the village, singing quietly to himself and looking around for any issues to resolve. After a couple hours, he had only found a couple issues to resolve, but he really didn’t mind. Roman loved the dirt roads, the marketplace stalls, and the happy townsfolk of this place. It felt like something out of his fairy tale book, where he read the stories he wished he could write. Tales of daring knights fighting dragon witches. Stories filled to the brim with hi-jinx and antics that could make him smile on the lowest days. It made him want to stay in the village forever. For the rest of the day, Roman wandered the village. He didn’t feel like going home yet. Not when the village had such a beautiful view of the sunset over the treetops. He sat on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the marketplace when he realized that he should be home before dark, as to not worry his parents, so he started the walk back up to the castle.

Once he arrived home, something immediately felt off. There were no guards at the door, and his parents were nowhere to be seen. He assumed that they were just in a meeting, It just seemed like an excuse to himself, because it was too late to have a meeting for anything short of an emergency. He was incredibly tired from the long day, and felt like just collapsing into the bed without changing. He was trying not to think about it, but it felt off in his bedroom too, like he wasn’t completely alone. He brushed it off, got changed, and went to bed feeling slightly uneasy.

He woke up hours later in the dead of night with a hand over his mouth. He couldn’t see much because the stranger’s hand was covering a bit of his vision, but he could barely make out a stranger in a deep purple cape holding up a finger to their lips in a hushing manner. Their eyes were darting around the room anxiously, like they had someone following them. They moved their hand from their lips and reached out to hand Roman a hastily scrawled note:

“Get changed fast. Not much time. Danger.”

Roman nodded quickly and rushed out of the bed. After reading the note he assumed that this wasn’t a death threat or a kidnapping, but a rescue. After rushing to get changed out of his pajamas, and throwing a few things like parchment and quill, a spare outfit, the pajamas he had been wearing, the coins he had leftover from the village, and his crown into a bag, he followed the stranger climbing out of his bedroom window into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!  
> This is just a random idea that sprung up that i really liked the sound of, so i decided to make it. It's inspired by the drawings I did for an elf AU, posted on my tumblr here:  
> ( https://an0therrand0.tumblr.com/post/622024899410706432/i-wanted-to-draw-the-sanders-sides-as-elves-so-i )  
> Let me know if you enjoyed this! I'll most likely update the next time my motivation allows me to.


	2. The Rogue Assassin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've seen Roman's side of that day, but what about the perspective of another. Meet Virgil Varela, mercenary-for-hire. What else happened on that fateful day?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: many mentions of murder; mild cursing; food; me trying to write while half asleep, but what else is new?; I wish i could say I didn't spend an excessive amount of time thinking of a title, but that would be a lie

That same Morning…

It was another grim day in the kingdom of Ebonspire. The sun rising over the tops of the trees was the only thing that seemed hopeful that day. From the camps of people on the run and trying to survive, to the blissfully unaware people in some villages, it was a place of fear for many, and a place of joy for a lucky few. It was a place of joyful villages of some scared people, scared most of all by the royal family, for one could never tell if the king and queen would be benevolent or detrimental to the prosperity of their citizens. It was truly a troubled kingdom.

At least, this was how Virgil Varela saw it. He woke up as the sun peeked through the trees, shining onto his face. The grass was wet, soaking his back as he stared at the morning sky. Sitting up with a yawn, he looked around. He had a small satchel by his side. It didn’t look like anything had been stolen while he was sleeping, but looking around, it didn’t seem like there was any food. He’d just have to get something at the closest village when he got the chance. He had some extra coins saved for stuff like this. He could just steal it, but getting caught and thrown in prison wasn’t high on his to-do list today.

He grabbed his purple cape out of his bag and put it on. It was a cold morning, and it made a pretty good cloak to keep him warm, despite the rips and tears from use. Throwing his satchel over his shoulder, he walked out into the forest; walking by pine tree after pine tree, bush after bush, until he finally arrived at a village. He walked into the village, quickly realizing his mistake. This was the village by the castle. He had been so hungry that he didn’t notice the castle towers over the trees.

Virgil was a for-hire mercenary. He used to be a part of an entire guild of mercenaries, but decided to leave two years ago. He had been doing this for around 6 years now, starting when he was 14, making him pretty high on most kingdom’s “Capture and Eliminate” List with how many people he’s killed. He didn’t love it, but money is money, and that was the easiest way to get it for him. It was better than not eating, so he kept doing it. He walked through the village, looking for somewhere to eat, until he found a little noodle place down an alley. Virgil loved noodles, especially with butter, so he hoped this place had good prices. He walked in and over to the woman behind the counter. A floorboard creaking alerted her to his presence.

“Oh! Hello sir! How can I help you?” She beamed, turning around to face him, while grabbing a dirty glass and wet cloth and starting to clean the glass. He should have been able to answer easily, but talking to people had always been an issue for him. It just made him unreasonably nervous. That was why he preferred just killing them. After you kill a person you just have to run. After you talk to one, you don’t know what could happen.

He quickly shook himself back to reality. “Butter Noodles.” He half-muttered, pointing at the parchment hung up by a couple nails behind the woman, which had all of the menu quickly scrawled onto it. The woman looked confused.

“Could you repeat that sir?”

“Butter Noodles. How much are they?” Virgil hurriedly spoke, trying not to trip over his words.

‘Ohh!” The woman exclaimed. “8 silver!” Virgil sighed. It was more expensive than he had hoped, but it was cheaper than most other places. He reached into his satchel and tossed the coins across the counter to her. “I’ll be right out with that, sir.” The woman walked through a shabby door to a kitchen, and Virgil sat down and stared into space for a while, then she came back with his noodles. He thanked her, quickly eating and leaving.

As he left, he noticed a worn parchment across the alley. It was a faded wanted poster of him from a couple years ago. Virgil could tell when it was from, because it showed a fresh scar across his eye, when it had healed two years ago. He ripped it off of the wall and stuffed it quickly into his satchel. He walked out into the square. It was early enough that he could probably stay without getting caught for a little over an hour. He aimlessly wandered around until he saw the prince walk into town. The guy seemed pretty happy for how early it still was. And of course, he was followed by a personal squad of guards. 

That was Virgil’s cue to leave. He couldn’t go back the way he came in. It was actually being guarded at this point, unlike when he arrived. He saw a way out by a small row of houses across the square. It was risky, but his best bet at the time. He bolted for it, his cape streaming behind him like he was a superhero or something. Luckily for him, the prince and his guards were facing the other direction and looking at a fruit stand and talking to the owner. Virgil made it to his escape and paused to catch his breath when he heard a yell behind him. He turned around to see a man in armor. 

“Shit.” He muttered under his breath. He couldn’t outrun this guy. He knew from experience. All of the guards are incredibly fast, because what’s the point of a guard if you can outrun them?` “Yes?” The guard walked up to him, holding up the wanted poster. It must have fallen out of his bag when he was running.

“I’m going to have to take you back to the castle, sir.” The guard said, looking at the resemblance between Virgil and the poster. Virgil rolled his eyes as his arms were tied behind his back. He was led up the hill near the village and in through the doors of the castle. It was unlike anything Virgil had ever seen. He’d seen the insides of castles when he was arrested in other kingdoms, but none were as elaborately decorated as this one. From the polished, stone floors to the beautifully detailed door frames, it was amazing. As Virgil stood in awe, two figures walked down a staircase to him. The figures belonged to King and Queen Ravensheart.

“Virgil Varela. Arrested in 17 various kingdoms for murder, but never imprisoned because you escaped.” The king spoke, walking towards Virgil. “Do you have any idea why you’re here?” He stopped in front of Virgil. 

Virgil barely even took a second to reply. “I’m guessing the murders, your majesty.” He thought it seemed obvious. What other reason could there be? The king let out a hearty laugh. The queen, still standing behind him, was trying to hide a smirk. The king put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Not quite, my boy.” Virgil hadn’t taken much note of the king’s appearance before, but for some reason, he did now. The king had piercing red eyes, and dark brown hair with a matching beard. He was much taller than Virgil, towering above him. He was clothed in intricately embroidered robes. “I brought you here because I have a job for you.” He took a step back. “If you’re interested, I would like to meet with you in the dining hall to discuss. You have ten minutes to think about this.” After untying Virgil’s hands from behind his back, the king and queen walked away, leaving Virgil to think. 

He didn’t have to think for long. A job from royalty had to pay well. He’d also probably get a one way ticket away from the kingdom so they wouldn’t get caught for hiring an mercenary. He didn’t really have anything to lose here, so he wandered the castle until he found the dining room. Through the large, stained-glass window, he could see that it was around the beginning of the afternoon. He saw the king and queen across the room, and walked over to join them.

“So what’s your job and how much does it pay?” Virgil asked as he sat down across from the royalty. The king and queen exchanged glances, then nodded.  
“We’d like you to dispose of the prince.” The queen finally spoke. Virgil looked at them in shock. He’d never imagined that this would be his job. He racked his brain, trying to think of a reason why they would want to do this. It didn’t make any sense, but it would be weird to ask for reasoning for a job.

“And the pay?” Virgil asked again.

The king reached under the table, grabbed something, and threw it across the table to Virgil. It was a bag full of gold and silver coins. Virgil was shocked. This was the most money he had ever seen in his life. He might have some confusion as to the reasoning for the job, but he couldn’t just pass up this amount of money.

“Okay. I’ll do it. When and how?”

Later that day, Virgil was standing on the roof outside of the prince’s window. He’d been there for a couple hours already. The sun was starting to go down, so he assumed that the prince would be back soon. This was giving him a lot of time to think. Did he really want to kill the only heir to the throne? His parents sucked, but maybe he wouldn’t turn out so bad. He’d already been paid. He could spare the prince and book it out of the kingdom. But then he would run the risk of getting hunted by guards, and the prince would still probably be killed. He’d made up his mind. He sat on the roof until the middle of the night. 

He quietly opened the window and climbed into the room. He noticed all of the parchment on the desk, and quickly grabbed a quill and tore a piece of parchment. He dipped the quill in the ink, and quickly scratched out a note. He walked over to the prince’s bed and put a hand over his mouth, causing him to wake up. He held a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion, then removed it to hand him the note that said “Get changed fast. Not much time. Danger.” The prince had looked shocked, but calmed down and nodded. The entire time, Virgil’s purple and green eyes were darting around the room, making sure no one else was there. He removed his hand from the prince’s mouth to wait by the window. Once the prince was ready, they climbed out the window and down the wall to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This is a lot longer than I thought it would be. Sorry it took so long to get this out, but my motivation is nonexistent these days. I once again spent a whole hour thinking of a title, but this time it was after i finished writing. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you thought. I'm always open to criticism and ways I could improve. In all honesty, some of this chapter is just me having fun with a random idea i had, because i sometimes have the problem of rushing plot, so... Have a nice day!


	3. The Clearing in The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Roman have escaped the castle and into the forest, where they seek refuge for a night.

Virgil and Roman escaped the castle walls with no issues, save for when Roman almost fell off the roof. Luckily, Virgil caught him before he fell. After they were in the forest, Virgil started to lead Roman to find a spot to camp for the night. They didn’t speak. Roman was too shaken up, and Virgil just wasn’t big on conversations. They wandered through the forest for around a half an hour before Roman spoke up. “So who exactly are you? And why did we have to leave the castle?” Virgil realized that this probably seemed like a kidnapping or something to him because he hadn’t given any reason for leaving besides “Danger.” He took a deep breath as he kept walking. He couldn’t stop when they were still this close to the castle.

“Right. My name is Virgil. There… there was a plan to kill you in your sleep, so I snuck you out through your window.” Roman stopped in shock. Why in the world would there be a plan to kill him? Who would do that? And why? He had so many questions, but he realized that Virgil had kept walking while he stopped. He ran to go catch back up with Virgil with questions and thoughts racing through his mind. This was all so strange and hard for him to believe.

Neither of them for the rest of the time they walked that day. Virgil was terrified of having to explain that he was supposed to be the one to kill the prince, and Roman was still processing the fact that someone tried to kill him. Eventually, the two came across a small clearing in the woods. Perfect for setting up camp. There was a small creek nearby, and it was secluded enough that they wouldn’t have to worry about getting robbed during the night. 

The only outstanding issue was that Virgil hadn’t accounted for having another person with him, so he didn’t have enough food. They were too far from any village that wouldn’t immediately turn in a wanted criminal and the Prince of Ebonspire, so either they would have to split Virgil’s remaining food, and hope they could get to a safe village by the end of the next day, or they could attempt to hunt for food. 

While Virgil was lost in thought over what to do, Roman had started gathering materials for a fire. The sun was close to setting, and the idea being caught in the cold for the night didn’t seem very pleasant. Honestly, he had no clue what he was doing. He only knew that he needed sticks and leaves, so he re-entered the clearing with an armful of dry sticks, twigs, and leaves, which were promptly dropped onto the ground with a thud. This startled Virgil back to reality. He turned his gaze to the prince.

Roman seemed confused and terrified. His red eyes were staring at the ground, and he was pacing the ground of the clearing. This had to be a lot for him to go through. He had to follow a stranger out of his bedroom window, then wander the forest all day after being told that someone tried to kill him. Virgil felt incredibly guilty. Should he tell Roman what happened? Should he stay quiet? He knew he couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but when should it stop being a secret? He brushed it off. Right now, there were bigger issues. He had to worry about keeping both of them safe. Finding food right now was too big of a risk. He took the bag that was slung over his shoulder and set it on the ground. He didn’t have much, but it should be enough for a night. As long as they would be able to find a small village or a town tomorrow, they should be fine.

Virgil stood up with his bag and walked over to the prince. He set the bag down in front of him and started pulling out some of his spare food stash. It was mostly nuts and berries in small pouches so they weren’t crushed, along with a pouch of dried oats. “Do you have any ideas of what we could do with this? We could always try to get a fish from the creek, but we don’t even know if there’s anything there…”

Roman looked at Virgil. “We could probably do something with the oats if we had any hot water. I could get some water from the stream if you start a fire to boil it over.” Virgil looked at the prince, slightly impressed that he didn’t think of it first. 

“Sounds good. All of the firewood you collected earlier should come in handy.” He smiled at Roman as the prince went to go collect water in the small cooking pan Virgil had in his bag. 

Virgil collected up all of the sticks from Roman’s pile on the ground, and moved them to a dirt patch, then grabbed some stones from the creek and put them in a ring in the patch. He put a bunch of dry leaves at the bottom with some twigs, then put some of the bigger sticks over it before grabbing his flint and steel, igniting the leaves after a few strikes.

Roman returned from the stream a minute or so later. He was partially soaked, but he had the pan of water. He set it down on a tree stump near the dirt patch where Virgil was making the fire. The kindling had ignited, so the mercenary stood back up to face Roman. After a moment of confusion, Roman quickly realized that he was trying to imply that he needed the pan, however badly it was being implied. He reached over and grabbed the pan, gently handing it to Virgil. They then proceeded to boil the water, while they had Roman split the pouch of oats between a couple of bowls. The water finished boiling, and Virgil poured it over the oats after letting it cool for a minute, then the two put the nuts and berries in as well. Virgil only had one spoon in his bag, so he ate with a fork and let Roman have the spoon.

The two enjoyed the meal while sitting by the fire, which crackled and popped throughout the cold evening as the sun set behind the mountains and the moon rose above the trees. Roman poked at his food. The thought that someone tried to kill him was still eating at him, but he was trying not to think about it.

“So… Virgil, right?” Roman spoke up. Virgil looked up from his food and nodded. “Mind telling me a bit about yourself? I mean, we’re probably going to be around each other for a while, so I figured I’d ask.” Roman nervously started rambling as he fidgeted with his fingers. He was obviously thankful that he saved him, but he barely knew this person. 

Virgil swallowed his bite of food. “I mean, there’s honestly not much to tell.” He hesitantly answered, genuinely unsure of anything interesting to tell about himself. “Anything in particular you want to know? I can’t guarantee I can answer, but I can try.” Virgil took another bite of his food. The bowl was almost empty.

“Well….” Roman pondered for a moment. “Do you have a surname, or is it just Virgil?” Virgil answered that he did, in fact, have a surname, but it wasn’t important for him to know. “Do you have any family, or is it just you?”

Virgil winced at this question. Family was a difficult subject for him to say the least. He hadn’t heard from them since he started taking on jobs for the mercenary guild. He had no idea whether they were dead or alive, much less where they were. He sighed and sadly looked into the fire. “Honestly, I don’t know. Next question.” Roman realized his mistake, and quickly tried to apologize.

“Virgil, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine.” He quickly interrupted. Roman didn’t have to know about his issues. “You didn’t know. Next question.” 

Roman attempted to think of another question, but nothing came to mind. “I guess… do you have any questions about me?” He thought it was only fair that Virgil got to ask about him, since he obviously went into a sensitive topic. If he got to learn about Virgil, he thought the inverse should be true as well.

“I guess if I get to ask a question, what was it like living in the castle? I’ve always kinda wondered.” Virgil returned after a moment.

“Well,” Roman scratched the back of his head. “It was nice, I guess. It’s all I’ve ever really known until now. My parents are the kindest people I know, and they gave me the best childhood I could ask for.” Virgil looked away from Roman. Breaking the news was going to be much harder than he thought. “I guess the main downside is that I didn’t grow up with many friends. Being a prince is pretty lonely. Except for….” Roman paused and glanced at the sky. 

“Is everything alright?”

Roman shook himself back to reality. “Yes, I’m fine. There... was my brother, Remus, as well. We were twins. But I haven’t seen him in four years. He’s missing. Presumed dead.” His voice trailed off at the thought of his brother actually being dead. It had been four years, but thinking about it still hurt more than anything. He and Remus never got along perfectly, but they were both best friends as well as brothers.

“I’m- I’m so sorry Roman. I didn’t know.” Virgil sat there, shocked. He had no idea what to say.

The prince sharply inhaled, then looked to Virgil with tears in his eyes. “It’s… it’s okay. I’m okay. We should get some rest, right? We need to get moving to find food tomorrow.” Virgil nodded to him.

“You get some sleep. I’ll keep watch for a bit.” Roman walked to lay down, and looked up to the stars, as Virgil sat on guard close by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive!!! Woooo! These last few weeks have been nuts! Consistent writing schedule who? Going to be completely honest here. I wrote most of this one night at 1 AM while listening to MCR because I couldn't find any fantasy music I vibed with, so.... I hope you enjoyed this, lmao. If nothing else, I learned how to build a fire from a smokey bear website while writing this.


End file.
